Sunday, January 20, 2013

Banana Cake with Walnut Buttercream


I was super excited about this months Cake Slice bakers selection! This month two cakes tied! We could choose from "Banana Cake with Coffee Walnut Buttercream" or a "Classic Butter cake with chocolate frosting". I haven't had much baking practice with banana cake recipes, so I chose the banana. 
This month was also my twin nieces birthdays, and this year I was in charge of the cake. Super happy about that! My sister ordered a "Tinker Bell" themed cake. I decided to upgrade the cake to two tiers, and make the top tier a banana cake using this recipe.



Since the cake was for a children's birthday party I decided to leave out the bourbon in the nut mixture.


I have made Italian buttercream before and this technique leaves a identical texture and flavor. Both pretty easy to make, at this point I don't prefer one over the other. They are equally delicious!


I absolutely loved this buttercream! I only used half of the espresso it called for, I was afraid of having a bitter result. It had a hint of coffee and walnuts, it was perfect!




I made sure it had a generous portion of filling and decided to give it a crumb coat too.



I had a lot of compliments, everyone seemed to enjoy it. I loved everything about this cake. Besides holding back a little on the coffee, I also used cake flour instead of all purpose. I wanted it to be lighter and not end up with a dense cake. I'm glad the guests enjoyed it, we had no leftovers or wasted cake.

12 comments:

All That's Left Are The Crumbs said...

Such a beautiful cake! I chose this cake too and I really enjoyed it.

Anne@FromMySweetHeart said...

Oh your cake is just gorgeous! What a great idea to make a two tier cake and have the top cake be the banana cake! I think you were wise to leave out the bourbon and cut back the coffee...those flavors really overtook the walnut flavor for me. But I enjoyed it just the same. Your nieces must have been thrilled with such a beautiful cake!

Paloma said...

I am soooo surprised at how beautiful this banana cake turned out for everybody! I love it! I guess in my narrow mind I couldn't shake the picture of a too simple "banana bread" and that's why I chose "The Classic" but this banana cake is now a "must try" for me! Yours looks soo tall and great! Love the cake part as well! oooh yummy!!!

Joy said...

I agree with Paloma....this cake has become a "must try" for me. You made it look so delicious! Lucky little birthday girl!! :)

Unknown said...

Your cake is so so pretty!! I love the way you made it into a two tier cake :)

Stacie said...

Love that you were able to fit the cake into something that you were already doing. The buttercream looks delish!

Bibi @ Bibi's Culinary Journey said...

I love how you incorporated the cake in the birthday cake .... it's beautiful and great idea. Glad you made some changes ... I wish I would have :)

ImWhisper said...

How fun your cake turned out! I bet your nieces loved it so much!! I was worried about the denseness too - will try it with the cake flour one of these days as you did.
:)
H

Hello said...

Your cake looks stunning, I bet your nieces really loved it :-) x

Unknown said...

First off, so sorry it has taken me so long to look at this magnificent cake. Speaking of magnificent cakes, this really is beautiful! I would be so happy if I had this cake for my birthday. But I'd also feel a little guilty cutting into it. It looks too pretty :P

Cucina49 said...

I can see why you've received so many compliments--wow, that is gorgeous!

Emily said...

Your cake is pretty awesome! as usual!